August 1, 2025
Potential Queen Contestant,
Thank you for your interest in the 2026 Benton Franklin Fair and Horse Heaven Round-Up Rodeo Queen title. The Benton Franklin Fair Association is pleased to offer a $2,500 educational scholarship to the winner of this year’s pageant (upon successful completion of her year of reign), a trophy saddle, as well as many other gifts and awards.
The 2026 Queen will travel throughout the Pacific Northwest attending rodeos, parades, community events, civic luncheons and other royalty functions. It is a year of tremendous growth and endless possibilities. Our Queen will have an opportunity to make life-long friendships and memories to last a lifetime.
The Pageant competition will be conducted Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25, as you will note on the schedule included in the application packet. Educational workshops will be held prior to the competition, and each contestant is required to attend. If you are interested in competing for the title, be sure your calendar is free during the dates and times listed in the packet.
I encourage anyone who is interested in competing, this year or in the future, and their parent(s), to attend the informational meeting, Monday, September 8, 6:00pm at the Carousel of Dreams. Bring your list of questions for us to answer, and hear from Aubrey Johnston regarding her experience as the 2025 Queen.
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Benton Franklin Fair and Horse Heaven Round-Up Rodeo, August 19-23, as we celebrate our 77th Anniversary!
Sincerely,
Toni Zunker, Director
Benton Franklin Fair Association
509-430-3374
Note: If you would like to receive the application form in Word format, send me a request via email at tzunker@gmail.com, and I will forward one to you.